Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Replace the Creationists on the Board of Ed!

I'm regretful that I haven't had a chance to meet Sally Cauble, who is running against Connie Morris for the Board of Education seat in the big 5th District. I've met Tim Cruz, the Democratic candidate, and the basic logistical problems in the campaigns are the same.

The size of the district means that it costs more to reach the same number of voters. While a race in Eastern Kansas will probably run $100,000, estimates are that it will cost $150,000 to run against Morris.

I mention this because beating Connie would be truly excellent, and the Cauble campaign needs money. We're getting close to the end of another filing period, and a good showing will give her a lot of strength in the final push before the August 1 primary, when we hope to get Connie out of the way and let two good candidates fight it out.

Connie Morris has been the author of much of the inflammatory rhetoric that's flown around in the evolution debate. She has attacked her colleagues on the Board by name in taxpayer funded newsletters, has used taxpayer money to visit family in Florida while attending a conference about magnet schools, despite the fact that she hasn't actually got any such schools in her district.

She also has the massive fundraising power of the religious right behind her, and is reportedly raking in the cash, and spending it on big PR firms. You can help even out the fight by dropping a check for up to $500 in the mail to:

Cauble for Common SenseP.O. Box 1085Liberal, KS 67905

Be sure to include your name, address, occupation and employer if you will be donating more than $150 in the course of the cycle. And include your email address too, just for fun.

The same goes for any and all of your favorite candidates. TfK favored people and websites (in random order) are:

District 7 (neither candidate seems to have a web presence):Donna Viola (primary)Jack Wempe

The only moderate Board member up for re-election is Janet Waugh in District 1, who faces only primary opposition, and it's not clear yet how intense that fight will be. These other races are about replacing creationist board members, so it's better to focus your efforts on them.

Update: Janet Waugh's opponent is getting big backing from the creationists, so give her a hand also.